'Under a Halloween Moon' part 4

Prosecutor's state their case: Travis's blood on the victim is their "proof."

This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>> narrator: in the months after her fiance's murder, heather easton's pain is
beyond words
.

>>it's like someone sucks the life out of you and tells you your life isn't what you wanted it to be, and your
crime life
isn't going to happen.

>> narrator: grand forks
detectives had been working around the clock to solve this rare murder case. and then those
dna tests
of
travis
's lion costume came back. some of that blood on
travis
was his own. but some of it belonged to
joel
loveling and with that, police had everything they needed. and then one morning --

>>there was a knock on the door and there was detective sholes and detective simon. and they came in and they said that there was bad news and that
joel
's blood was on me and i was arrested for his murder.

>>a nervous
travis
was arraigned from jail via closed circuit tv. his anguish and misery is evident in his call home.

>>mom.

>>hi,
travis
. it's going to be okay. it's going to be okay.

>>i don't know.

>>i know this is difficult for you, trav.

>> narrator: it would get even tougher, a little more than a year after
travis
's arrest, he found himself on trial for murder, facing the rest of his
life behind bars
. the prosecutor laid out the state's case.
joel
loveling, a 38-year-old man.

>> narrator: for a trial that would define
travis
's fate.

>>he did not seek help for him avenuewards, left the scene, allowing mr. loveling to choke on his own blood.

>>joel
's fiance heather, as she relived that awful night.

>>he was just lying there, and i was screaming his name at him. he didn't say anything, he didn't do anything.

>>he was the last person that we believe was seen with mr. loveling.

>>detectives felt they had given their prosecutors an open and shut case, with overwhelming
physical evidence
.

>>when we looked at
travis
's clothes, it was covered in blood. and most importantly, none of the other costumes matched the paw that matched the
crime scene
.

>>we tested four different areas of
travis
's sweatshirt, three out of the four samples tested positive for
joel
loveling's blood.

>>and prosecutors argued, they could prove that
travis
was there with
joel
loveling prior to the murder. their eyewitnesses, the guys that had been so sloshed and uncooperative the night of the murder. the hunter, the gangster and the cowboy from the
party bus
. brice larson, the cowboy took the stand and told a story both his friends would echo.

>>mr. larsen, did you ever witness the murder of
joel
loveling?

>>no.

>>did you ever see him assaulted in the
broken drumparking lot
?

>>no.

>>when you left that
parking lot
, where was he?

>>talking to the guy in the yellow.

>> narrator: and that guy who had been wearing the cheesy yellow lion costume, he was sitting right there at the defense table. prosecutors laid out their timeline using security video from the
broken drum
. there's
travis
in his lion costume. which by this point in the evening, is little more than a yellow hoodie, moments later, he's gone outside.
joel
loveling, wearing his green
hockey jersey
, can be seen heading out a little later, never to return. the tape, prosecutors said, proved
travis
was in the
parking lot
when
joel
was killed.

>>and according to the state's witnesses from the bus, it was impossible for any of the other party goers to have attacked
joel
, because their
party bus
was gone by the time of the murder.

>>the bus was not at the
broken drum
when
joel
loveling was murdered.

>> narrator: the prosecution argued that
joel
's last words to his fiance heather, supported that timeline.

>>he reported to heather that some guy missed his bus, i was out there helping him, and then he went back out.

>> narrator: the guy who missed the bus, they told the jury, was the defendant. the state used
travis
's own words against him. they played every frame of those police interviews, in which
travis
claimed not to remember the most critical part of that alcohol sodden night.

>>you don't remember between the time you got hit until the time you got into the cab?

>> narrator: jurors heard testimony that later that night
travis
was in another fight.

>>after mr. loveling was killed,
travis
left the
broken drum
on foot, went to the location in an alleyway where he confronted another individual.

>> narrator: travis
threw a punch at that man and missed, he then got into a cab and went home. if prosecutors were to be believed, the defendant was a halloween nightmare come to life, just add alcohol and nurse
travisturn into
a drunk and dangerous mr. hyde.

>>joel
was bleeding from his face.

>> narrator: that theory helped themselves explain to jurors how the slightly built
travis
was able to take down and kill the much larger
joel
with his bare hands. police also say the fact that
joel
had had a few drinks made it easier for
travis
.

>>he was drunk. and so the fact that a little guy comes at him unsuspecting and he's unstable on his feet because he's intoxicated too makes perfect sense that he could drop him.

>> narrator: eight days into the trial, the prosecution calls its final witness, a
blood spatter
analyst, who used photos to show that the
blood spatter
on the clothing was consistent with
travis
standing over
joel
while beating him.

>>travis
was either standing right next to
joel
loveling or straddling
joel
loveling as he was punching him in the face.

>> narrator: the prosecution's evidence was stacking up against
travis
stay, no question he had been in a fight with the hunter, before
joel
was killed. no question he had taken a swing at swung else afterwards and now he would have to explain why there were traces of blood on his costume, which
travis
was either unable or unwilling to do because of his suspiciously convenient amnesia.